[joeysteele]

It is not without precedent that the party that didn't win the most seats or even got the most votes can not take power.

Different time admittedly and less parties but in 1923, the Conservatives got 37% of the vote and Labour got around 30%
The Conservatives won 258 seats, labour won 191.

It was however Labour and Ramsey McDonald,the aprty that came 2nd in seats and votes, who became the govt; albeit only for 10 months as the Liberals then helped block the legislation with the Conservatives.
This could be really different this time however for a much more stable govt:

I have said it before, I will again, the latest projections of seats on the electoral calculus gives the Conservatives likely around 282 seats and Labour around 275,with the SNP on 52.

Neither Labour or the Conservatives in that scenario could govern at all without the support of the SNP.neither of them,it would be impossible.
Unless either Labour allowed the Conservatives to govern or vice versa,
Now can anyone see that coming about.

[billy123]

UKIP candidate threatens to murder the opposition by putting a bullet between the eyes of an Asian MP claiming he isn't British enough.

Youtube video

[MTVN]

How long before Ukip accept this is more than just a few bad apples? If they want to be taken seriously as a political force they need to have a thorough examination of all their members in any position of influence within the party and where necessary have a complete overhaul

[joeysteele]

Cannot believe I am saying this but at last this election has come alive a bit more.
Now for me the best speech of this campaign has come today from a speech I have just watched, Gordon Brown's barnstorming speech in Glasgow.

It may be too late to change anything dramatically but I dare bet he will have swung some votes back for labour.

That is what is needed the passion he showed,not afraid to say the wrong thing,he is standing down as an MP.
He got me fired up at any rate.

[joeysteele]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

I think its pretty lonely voices that are saying that SNP mps do not have a valid voice, almost the complete majority are saying the Scottish MP's are valid. My point of contention is purely around the lack of a formal agreement. I just don't see that as workable or realistic.

We are sitting here arguing the toss, and the reality may still yet be that labour or conservative get enough votes to go it alone. There is enough margin for error in these polls for that to easily be the case, and the more these intricate details are discussed, the more i think they will become completely irrelevant when the votes are counted

Absolutely right.
In 2005, Labour only had 35.2% of the votes and the Conservatives 32.7%.
That resulted in a labour win with 358 seats and a 66 overall majority.
Even with no Scottish MPs then they would have been able to govern probably.

As you say the polls can be wrong and it could be, on this neck and neck basis in the current polls,as to margins of error,that one or the other may well be running at 3 to 5% ahead of the other.
In that scenario, all bets could be off.

With a much weakened Lib Dem party too, and no other party seeming to be near the 20% mark,really who knows.

[bots]

Originally Posted by MTVN

How long before Ukip accept this is more than just a few bad apples? If they want to be taken seriously as a political force they need to have a thorough examination of all their members in any position of influence within the party and where necessary have a complete overhaul

They have 1 acceptable spokesman - Nigel, the rest of them I just don't trust. I would dearly love to make a protest vote, as my constituency is among the safest in the country - looked up the voter value index and it was laughable - but I just cannot bring myself to vote for a party like UKIP that is just so sinister.

In these times of instant communication and social media, the number of authorised spokespeople for each party seems to have reduced further and further for fear of making a mistake or going off message. Everything is way to stage managed, the parties are more frightened of losing than pushing for a victory. It's pretty sickening really, things have definitely not improved over the years.

[arista]

[Kizzy]

The Sun has been more virulently opposed to the Labour party and its leader Ed Miliband than it was in the runup to the 1992 election when Neil Kinnock was famously portrayed in a lightbulb on polling day, a study shows.

Research by the Media Standards Trust found that 95% of the leader columns in Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid were anti-Labour ahead of Thursday’s general election, compared with 79% that were judged anti-Labour in 1992.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/201...murdoch-labour

This is clear press bias, anyone who wishes to complain to IPSO here are the details how..

Complaints must be made in writing, and should be made via the IPSO complaints form, here . You will need to provide us with a copy of the article in question (if there is one) and set out how you believe the Editors' Code of Practice has been breached. You are also able to provide any other relevant letters or documents which would help us to assess the complaint. If you have previously written to the publication about your complaint, you should supply copies of the correspondence. Further information is available below about how we will handle your complaint.

The easiest way to make a compalint is via our online complaints form but if you would prefer to submit your complaint by email you can do so by writing to inquiries@ipso.co.uk. Complaints may also be sent via post to:

IPSO
Gate House
1 Farringdon Street
London EC4M 7LG

If you are not submitting your complaint via the online form, please ensure that you have included the following information:

The name of the publication;
A copy of the complete article, if available, and a note of the publication date;
The Clause(s) of the Code under which you wish to complain;
A summary of your complaint, which explains how you believe the article has breached the Editors' Code of Practice;
Copies of all of the correspondence you have had with the publication;
Any other relevant documentation.

https://www.ipso.co.uk/IPSO/makingacomplaint.html

[arista]

"anyone who wishes to complain to IPSO"


You are having a laugh


Feck Me Kizzy - They backed Your Blair



This is a work of Art.

[MTVN]

Better all report the Mirror and the Guardian then. Who said the press must be unbiased by law? They've all endorsed different parties for this election after all

[Ross.]

I love how tactical The Sun are being to stop Labour getting in.

[Kizzy]

No I'm not joking no, I don't think any other paper has been so dogmatic in it's approach.

David Axelrod, the American political consultant and Obama adviser who has been working for Labour during this campaign, has given an interview to Michael Goldfarb from Politico. It’s well worth reading in full, but here are the key points.

Axelrod says the Tory press in the UK is more powerful and “much more aggressive” than Fox News in the US.
POLITICO: But what about the press? You say it has disproportionate power here. Do you think Britain’s conservative print media is more powerful than Fox News?

DA: Yeah, I do. I do think the parties approach media as partisan players. So you see parties disseminating messages through the print media in a way that is unusual ...

DA: Fox is certainly very conservative, skews to the Republican side, but there isn’t a kind of lockstep between them and the Republicans. Fox tries to drive the Republican agenda more than reflecting it.

Here there are relationships between the parties and media outlets that are deeper so you see a lot of themes being previewed in the media in a way that you don’t see in the states.

[Kizzy]

Labour has got a 13-point lead over the Conservatives in London, according to the Evening Standard.

Ed Miliband enters his final day of campaigning with Labour 13 points ahead among Londoners, according to research conducted by YouGov for the Evening Standard. Labour is up two points in a fortnight to hit 46 per cent — its best share since November 2013.

'David Cameron’s Conservatives are up one point to 33 per cent, while Nick Clegg’s Liberal Democrats are up one point to be third with nine per cent.

The three parties’ gains come at the expense of Ukip and the Greens — both squeezed hard in the run-up to polling day, which could produce some surprise results in key battlegrounds.'

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/...aign-final-day

[Kizzy]

I wouldn't say even the Guardian has been that supportive of Labour it is left leaning Lib dem at best.

This is based on the 2010 election, look at newspapers across the board Labour is at a distinct disadvantage with just the Mirror backing them wholeheartedly.



http://www.theguardian.com/news/data...spaper-support

[Kizzy]

'O'Donnell says Cameron signed off on rules saying largest party does not automatically form government

On the Today programme this morning Gus O’Donnell (or Lord O’Donnell, as he is now), the former cabinet secretary, made it clear that there is nothing illegitimate about the second largest party in the Commons forming a government provided it can command the confidence of the Commons. Tories are challenging this idea, and it is due to become a central issue of debate after the election.

On the Daily Politics O’Donnell repeated this line and added some new points.

O’Donnell said that David Cameron himself had signed off on the rules that say the government does not have to be led by the largest party.
One thing I should say about the cabinet manual. People keep saying it is my cabinet manual. It is the government’s cabinet manual. It is the cabinet’s cabinet manual in particular, and the preface is there signed by the prime minister, David Cameron.'

What is this cabinet manual..why was it written, were the statutes used by previous governments not sufficient? This govt also fiddled with the length of terms, how was this allowed to happen that whoever is in power can manipulate the existing rules of democratic governance in the UK?

[arista]

Yes under Kizzys View

The Mirror Paper

is breaking her Rules

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by arista

Yes under Kizzys View

The Mirror Paper

is breaking her Rules

I said they supported Labour I did not say that support was not proportional...

[billy123]

Ukip candidate John Leathley apologises after saying female journalist 'needs a shag'

A Ukip candidate standing in Tony Blair’s old seat is facing calls that he be suspended after making "sexist, racist and violent" comments about a well-known female journalist.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...-10228028.html

[arista]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

I said they supported Labour I did not say that support was not proportional...

Its biased

the same way you say the Sun is
Fact

[arista]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

'O'Donnell says Cameron signed off on rules saying largest party does not automatically form government

On the Today programme this morning Gus O’Donnell (or Lord O’Donnell, as he is now), the former cabinet secretary, made it clear that there is nothing illegitimate about the second largest party in the Commons forming a government provided it can command the confidence of the Commons. Tories are challenging this idea, and it is due to become a central issue of debate after the election.

On the Daily Politics O’Donnell repeated this line and added some new points.

O’Donnell said that David Cameron himself had signed off on the rules that say the government does not have to be led by the largest party.
One thing I should say about the cabinet manual. People keep saying it is my cabinet manual. It is the government’s cabinet manual. It is the cabinet’s cabinet manual in particular, and the preface is there signed by the prime minister, David Cameron.'

What is this cabinet manual..why was it written, were the statutes used by previous governments not sufficient? This govt also fiddled with the length of terms, how was this allowed to happen that whoever is in power can manipulate the existing rules of democratic governance in the UK?

Yes thats Logical

[arista]

Originally Posted by Ross.

I love how tactical The Sun are being to stop Labour getting in.

Yes its Very Nice
Ross

[arista]

Originally Posted by bobnot

Ukip candidate John Leathley apologises after saying female journalist 'needs a shag'

A Ukip candidate standing in Tony Blair’s old seat is facing calls that he be suspended after making "sexist, racist and violent" comments about a well-known female journalist.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...-10228028.html

Thats good then
He has said sorry

[Livia]

Is that right there's an election tomorrow? Why hasn't anyone said anything...?

[arista]

Originally Posted by Livia

Is that right there's an election tomorrow? Why hasn't anyone said anything...?

Yes I vote at 7AM sharpe

[Jack_]

Originally Posted by arista

Yes I vote at 7AM sharpe

Up bright and early to back Ed, that's what I like to see